Cyprus is an island state in which gambling licenses have been recently issued. Despite the ongoing poker tournaments and the Cypriots love of gambling, getting a local license is not easy.

Licensing of online gambling began only in 2016. Also, the first license for a land-based casino was issued the same year. Online casinos are still officially banned, but major operators are confident that this situation will be revised soon. Since the country already has a large and experienced regulator – the National Betting Authority, which licenses bookmakers and land-based casinos.

Licensing details of online casinos and betting shops in Cyprus

Since online casinos are officially banned in Cyprus, various betting shops are very popular.

At the moment there are two types of licenses issued for the sportsbooks:

● A-class license applies to ground-based establishments where you can bet on all sports, excluding horse racing.

● A B-Class license intended for establishments where you can install online. Under this license, it is forbidden to open Internet projects where slot machines and slots will be placed.

An official ban by the authorities does not interfere with the work of unofficial online casinos, of which there are simply an incredible amount. The authorities of Cyprus still ignore them.

Pricing policy, conditions and amount of taxes. Requirements for opening bookmakers in Cyprus

To obtain a license for a sportsbook in Cyprus, you will need to pay a considerable amount:

● an annual license costs 30 thousand euros;

● a two-year license will cost 45 thousand euros.

Applications are considered only from companies that have been registered in the state or have an official branch on the island.

To send an application to the National Betting Authority, you need to prepare corresponding package of documents and make sure that you meet the following requirements of the regulator:

● The operator must own securities that are registered in the local jurisdiction.

● In Cyprus, it is necessary to register an organization whose main activity will be betting on sporting events. If your organization was registered in another state, then you will have to create a branch on the island. In addition, you can find a company that is engaged in bookmaking, and enter into a partnership with it. But in this case, the applicant is required to have a share capital in the amount of half a million euros. Moreover, the minimum capital of 500 thousand euros applies not only to companies registered in Cyprus, but also to foreign ones.

● The guarantee term on a local bank’s deposits or in a bank of another country (necessarily a member of the European Union) in the amount of 550 thousand euros is valid for six months after you have been issued a license.

● Have good solvency to guarantee quick winnings’ payment to the user.

● The betting system should have a betting system in place.

● Guarantee the security of user information and funds in accordance with the Law on Rates.

● If you open a branch in Cyprus, then the operator must have a crystal clear reputation.

● Provide the evidence of the working servers’ existence (primary and secondary) located in the Cyprus data centers.

● Be ready to provide full reporting for a specified time period at the request of the regulator (NBA).

The country has a fairly democratic tax rate of 13%, only 10% of which go to the state treasury, and another 3% are credited to the accounts of the NBA regulator.

In principle, the licensing process runs as quickly as possible – from a few days to two weeks. It is also worthwhile to understand that the online betting office is obliged to conduct its activities exclusively in the com.cy domain zone. Obtaining a license is not easy, because the country’s authorities are primarily interested in financially secure operators who are interested in conducting gambling in the country.

So, all the major operators that have succeeded in this niche, may well rely on problem-free licensing in the country.

Player and Information Protection

According to local law, the gaming portal is obliged to provide detailed information about the license agreement, and timely provide users with information about its made changes as well. The site of the sportsbooks should conduct check points for users’ compliance. In addition, the management of the office should guarantee the deposit security and user information.

In addition, in recent years, the NBA began to cooperate closely with local banks in order to conduct all money transfers exclusively through them.

Why Cyprus is the perfect place to open an online project

Cyprus is a state with excellent financial indicators of population income. Plus, this jurisdiction only takes its first steps towards the online gambling legalization. So major operators should definitely open several establishments in the country where the population has a positive attitude to bets and gambling.